US - Religious Tolerance

WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. is reaching out to Muslim countriesangry about Western characterizations of Islam by bringing togetherrepresentatives from more than two dozen governments this week toaddress religious intolerance. To critics, the three-day conference in Washington smacks ofappeasement toward hardline Islamist governments. But U.S.officials say they're simply promoting education and understanding,while rejecting any demands for restrictions on free speech. The dialogue comes after years of complaints from Muslimgovernments about perceived offenses against their faith. Asexamples, they cite European cartoons of Muhammad and a Floridapastor's burning of the Quran. But their efforts to protect religious beliefs from mockery havebeen rejected by the U.S. and Western countries. Such restrictionswould be incompatible with free speech laws in many countries.